This popular text effectively combines a traditional case focus with clear and concise coverage of a wide range of up-to-date topics. Since most students will become businesspersons, the material is presented from the perspective of the professional non-lawyer. This book offers the opportunity to learn key points of the law from the standpoint of a working professional. Unlike other books it does not get bogged down in the complexities of the law, but tries to focus, in a very straightforward manner, on the core legal concepts that will be most essential for the business manager to know. Rather than conveying the material in the serious tone of many other legal environment books, the easy readability of this text, interjected with points of humor and levity, make it much easier for the key ideas to come across.

Benefits:

NEW! Enhanced Practical Focus: New ''Issue Spotter'' scenarios address potential ''red flag'' legal situations in business where students will need to be alert to major legal implications in their future careers. These unique features teach critical thinking skills based not on analyzing cases, as in most other books, but by analyzing issues as a business manager would. An enhanced practical focus is also found in more cases illustrating practical business situations, rewritten Chapter Openers that focus on legal business issues, and more short practical examples of law woven throughout.

Jurisprudence: These features are integrated throughout the text and highlight humorous or odd cases and legal issues to show some ironic aspects within, or affecting, the law.

Pulling it Together: A case question at the end of most chapters brings together at least one legal issue covered in the chapter and at least one legal issue covered in a previous chapter to show students how the law is inter-connected.

Practice Problems: Each end-of-chapter case problem set includes four problems that have a sample answer posted on the text Web site. Students are directed to the text Web site should they wish to verify their answers and/or read a sample answer for the problem.

Internet Assignments: The majority of the chapters conclude with an Internet assignment that poses legal environment questions. Students are directed to specific Web sites to analyze the material found there and answer the questions.

Supplement Cohesion: For optimal correlation between the supplements and text, all of the core supplements (IM, TB, SG) are written by text author Roger Meiners.

NEW! Improved Accessibility: This edition has an increased focus on legal basics to improve readability. Coverage of finer point legal details, such as uncommon exceptions to rules, have been minimized. Less ''legalese'' is used throughout the cases so as to concentrate more on the major legal principles in the quotes from the decisions. Attention has also been paid to integrating more examples throughout to help students grasp concepts.

NEW! New Cases: At least 40% of the cases are new to this edition. Some recent cases that are included are the 2004 Supreme Court ''South Florida Water Management District v. Miccousukee Tribe of Indians'' case concerning the application of the Clean Water Act to water pollution in the Everglades; and the 2004 Michigan Supreme Court ''Poletown'' case -- a major case concerning the use of eminent domain by governments over land taken for private development.

NEW! Refined Material: To improve clarity, longer chapters have been shortened. Examples include streamlining of courts, trials, and resolving disputes material into two chapters (formerly three), and the trial process and alternate dispute resolution material consolidated from two chapters into one.

NEW! Enhanced Coverage: Real property and intellectual property are now covered in separate chapters to increase the coverage on intellectual property.

NEW! Numbered Cases: The in-text cases are now numbered to make it easier for instructors to reference them.

Excerpted Cases: Excerpted cases, or cases in the language of the court, are integrated throughout each chapter to expose students to legal reasoning and help them understand that judges must apply rules of law to resolve disputes--not just give personal opinions.

International Perspectives: As globalization reaches more businesses, it is important the students understand some of the differences in other legal systems. This feature is integrated throughout the text to give the reader a glimpse of how some legal systems vary from ours, and a broader perspective by noting how similar legal topics are covered in other countries.

Cyberlaw: Updated for this edition, these features, integrated throughout the text, provide short discussions on applications of the law to the many developments arising from technology and e-commerce.

PART 1. ELEMENTS OF LAW AND THE JUDICIAL PROCESS.

1. The Modern Environment of Business. 2. The Court Systems. 3. Trials and Resolving Disputes. 4. The Constitution: Focus on Application to Business. 5. Government Agencies and Administrative Process.

This popular text effectively combines a traditional case focus with clear and concise coverage of a wide range of up-to-date topics. Since most students will become businesspersons, the material is presented from the perspective of the professional non-lawyer. This book offers the opportunity to learn key points of the law from the standpoint of a working professional. Unlike other books it does not get bogged down in the complexities of the law, but tries to focus, in a very straightforward manner, on the core legal concepts that will be most essential for the business manager to know. Rather than conveying the material in the serious tone of many other legal environment books, the easy readability of this text, interjected with points of humor and levity, make it much easier for the key ideas to come across.

Benefits:

NEW! Enhanced Practical Focus: New ''Issue Spotter'' scenarios address potential ''red flag'' legal situations in business where students will need to be alert to major legal implications in their future careers. These unique features teach critical thinking skills based not on analyzing cases, as in most other books, but by analyzing issues as a business manager would. An enhanced practical focus is also found in more cases illustrating practical business situations, rewritten Chapter Openers that focus on legal business issues, and more short practical examples of law woven throughout.

Jurisprudence: These features are integrated throughout the text and highlight humorous or odd cases and legal issues to show some ironic aspects within, or affecting, the law.

Pulling it Together: A case question at the end of most chapters brings together at least one legal issue covered in the chapter and at least one legal issue covered in a previous chapter to show students how the law is inter-connected.

Practice Problems: Each end-of-chapter case problem set includes four problems that have a sample answer posted on the text Web site. Students are directed to the text Web site should they wish to verify their answers and/or read a sample answer for the problem.

Internet Assignments: The majority of the chapters conclude with an Internet assignment that poses legal environment questions. Students are directed to specific Web sites to analyze the material found there and answer the questions.

Supplement Cohesion: For optimal correlation between the supplements and text, all of the core supplements (IM, TB, SG) are written by text author Roger Meiners.

NEW! Improved Accessibility: This edition has an increased focus on legal basics to improve readability. Coverage of finer point legal details, such as uncommon exceptions to rules, have been minimized. Less ''legalese'' is used throughout the cases so as to concentrate more on the major legal principles in the quotes from the decisions. Attention has also been paid to integrating more examples throughout to help students grasp concepts.

NEW! New Cases: At least 40% of the cases are new to this edition. Some recent cases that are included are the 2004 Supreme Court ''South Florida Water Management District v. Miccousukee Tribe of Indians'' case concerning the application of the Clean Water Act to water pollution in the Everglades; and the 2004 Michigan Supreme Court ''Poletown'' case -- a major case concerning the use of eminent domain by governments over land taken for private development.

NEW! Refined Material: To improve clarity, longer chapters have been shortened. Examples include streamlining of courts, trials, and resolving disputes material into two chapters (formerly three), and the trial process and alternate dispute resolution material consolidated from two chapters into one.

NEW! Enhanced Coverage: Real property and intellectual property are now covered in separate chapters to increase the coverage on intellectual property.

NEW! Numbered Cases: The in-text cases are now numbered to make it easier for instructors to reference them.

Excerpted Cases: Excerpted cases, or cases in the language of the court, are integrated throughout each chapter to expose students to legal reasoning and help them understand that judges must apply rules of law to resolve disputes--not just give personal opinions.

International Perspectives: As globalization reaches more businesses, it is important the students understand some of the differences in other legal systems. This feature is integrated throughout the text to give the reader a glimpse of how some legal systems vary from ours, and a broader perspective by noting how similar legal topics are covered in other countries.

Cyberlaw: Updated for this edition, these features, integrated throughout the text, provide short discussions on applications of the law to the many developments arising from technology and e-commerce.

Table of Contents

PART 1. ELEMENTS OF LAW AND THE JUDICIAL PROCESS.

1. The Modern Environment of Business. 2. The Court Systems. 3. Trials and Resolving Disputes. 4. The Constitution: Focus on Application to Business. 5. Government Agencies and Administrative Process.